Bloomberg’s organization wants to extend the waiting period for handguns, essentially. The Brady Act requires a NICS background check, but in the case where the system delays for manual review, the FBI has three days to make a determination, or the sale is allowed to proceed under what is called a “default proceed.” The problem, as they see it, is that the Charleston mass-murderering racist was delayed by the system, and after waiting five days, managed to get the gun on a default proceed.
There is nothing broken about the NICS system itself. It was designed to work this way. Where there was a failure is in the FBI not following through to determine the status of his case. Eugene Volokh took a more detailed look into this issue, and determined that the the racist mass-murderer was arrested previously on a non-felony drug charge, but which was accidentally entered as a felony drug charge. Ordinarily, a misdemeanor charge doesn’t bar you from purchasing a firearm. Only people under indictment or information for felony charges are barred from purchasing (but not possessing) firearms. However, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) bars people who are “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.”
Bob Owens has written two articles already about how this is not a failure of NICS. I agree with him. Even if the drug charge was a misdemeanor charge, unquestionably the FBI had grounds to deny The Racist under 922(g)(3), but it did not follow through. A big of communication between FBI and ATF could have seen The Racist’s gun recovered. That did not happen. This is an inevitable failure of bureaucrats, not a failure of NICS itself.
From an Everytown email about this:
So according to Everytown, the Brady Bill was backed the NRA (?!?). If the law is so bad (and I agree), you’d think Everytown would be praising the NRA for fighting against it, and taking it to the Supreme Court to try having it declared unconstitutional.
Hey remember when the antis promised that background checks were so easy and quick that they couldn’t possibly be an infringement.
Good times… Good times.
“Not a failure of NICS”.
Try telling that to a lot of gun people. If you try to tell them anything else, they prove why we’re our own worst enemies.
Either the Background Check was Approved after a delay (does this mean the Mighty FBI is not omniscient and omnipotent?), and the gun was legally bought;
Or the Background Check was Denied after a delay, and no one in the FBI or BATFE bothered themselves to recover the gun in the 2 months before he killed;
Or the FBI itself could not figure out if the dweeb was a prohibited person or not a prohibited person and did almost nothing in the 2! months before he killed those innocents.
Has anyone asked the FFL what the background check result finally was?
If it was the first case, it is a tragedy, similar to the tragedy of his “friends” never reporting he was a psycho racist terrorist wanna-be. If it was the second or third cases, well things happen, don’t blame us, we just work for the government. And did I mention we need more taxpayer money?
I have to disagree. A conviction for possession of drugs, much less an arrest without a conviction is **NOT** proof someone is a “user” or an “addict” under § 922(g)(3). They could easily just be a seller, or holding the drugs for someone else. The words Congress chooses matter, and “possession” is not the same as “use” or “addiction.”
Are the words in the statute specifically defined?
If not, it’s arguable that “user” could be interpreted to include possession with the intent to distribute.
Now they are just trying to penalize law abiding citizens because the government that they created is incompetent.
Next up for the anti’s, getting the laws changed so that misdemeanor drug charges are disqualifying.
heck, if you want a GREAT example of how eliminating default proceeds, at least on a state level, look at Maryland in 2013 before that AWB took effect. some absolutely OBSCENE delays in effect there.
NJ courts eliminated the default proceeding equivalent in the purchase permit system. Carol Bowne is unavailable to comment on the results
Soo…
If BloomWatts, a dirty cop or (heavens forbid) an ATF/FBI agent wants to “plant” some heroin on you for a bust. Your SCREWED. Your word against thiers.
Hell in Chicago the local PD and Sheriffs are RENDITIONING people…Search goggle/yahoo news, you WILL find it…….Unless of course………